The Blind Date
by xxLittle Black Dressxx
Summary: Addison and Archer resolve to date more appropriate people, so they help each other out by setting each other up on blind dates. What happens when Archer sets Addison up with Alex Karev?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I love Archer's character and thought it would be fun to include him in an Addison/Alex story. This story is set towards the end of the most recent seasons of Grey's Anatomy & Private Practice. I hope you enjoy & please review!

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Blind Date<strong>_

"So, uh, what do you say we get out of here, and take this back to my place," Alex asked the woman sitting beside him.

The woman shot him a flirtatious smile, "I'd like that."

"Great." Alex motioned to the bartender, so he could pay for their drinks. This was shaping up to be a pretty good night. He had just moved to California a week ago, deciding that he finally had enough of Seattle Grace and needed a fresh start. And California seemed like as good a place as any to get it. He had arranged to complete his residency at St. Ambrose Hospital and, so far, he liked it there a lot. Tomorrow would be his first day off since he arrived, and he decided to celebrate by doing what he did best – going out to a bar and picking up women. And by the looks of it, he was doing a good job of it tonight.

"Alright," Alex smiled, as he paid the tab, "are you ready to go?"

The woman was about to respond, but she was cut off by a good-looking man with brown hair and brown eyes.

"Honey, I've been looking all over for you," the man gushed, affectionately putting his hand on top of Alex's.

"Dude, what are you doing? And who the hell are you?" Alex asked, quickly removing his from the man's.

"Now, darling," the man smiled, "I know I freaked out on you a little when you were talking about commitment, and I'm sorry, I really am. But that doesn't mean you can just ignore me and pretend not to know me. Now, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Uh, you know what, Alex," the woman began, "I should probably go. It's late."

"It's only seven o'clock," Alex countered, roughly pulling away from the man, who had somehow managed to grab his hand again.

"Yeah, uh, but I just remembered, I have to go home and do something. So, yeah, uh thanks for the drinks, and, uh, good luck with everything," the woman stammered, quickly making her way out of the bar.

"What the hell was that?" Alex asked the man angrily.

"You can thank me later," the man smiled, putting some distance between himself and Alex. "I'm Archer, by the way."

"I can thank you later?" Alex spat. "What are you talking about? I was about to go home with that girl."

"Eh, you could do better," Archer replied nonchalantly. "I've been watching you for about an hour now, and I've decided I like you."

"If you were watching me for an hour," Alex began through gritted teeth, "you would know that I'm clearly interested in women and, since you're not one, you don't have a chance with me."

Archer laughed, "I wasn't talking about you and me. I was thinking you'd be a good match for my sister."

"You have got to be kidding me," Alex exploded. "Please tell me I'm on some type of hidden camera reality show."

Archer shrugged, "Sorry, you're not."

"So you're serious?" Alex asked in disbelief. "You know, you're sick, dude. Seriously. I mean, this situation is not normal."

"Well, my sister and I don't exactly come from a normal family," Archer confessed.

"Who does?" Alex muttered, thinking about his own family.

"Look," Archer continued, "after Bizzy, I mean, after my mother died, I moved out to L.A. That's where my sister lives."

"And this concerns me how?" Alex interrupted, clearly not amused.

"My sister recently got out of a messy relationship. Personally, I think she's better off for it. But, anyway, she and I tend to sleep with inappropriate people. Well, actually, that's a lie. _She_ tends to sleep with inappropriate people. _I_ tend to sleep with anything in a skirt. So we decided to help each other out by setting each other up on blind dates with more appropriate people."

"You just met me," Alex challenged. "What makes you think I'm any more appropriate then the men that your sister has slept with?"

"Well, you are a little young for her," Archer confessed. "But trust me, that's small potatoes compared to some of the men that Addie's dated. To be honest, you probably wouldn't be my first choice for her," Archer continued, "but I have to show up at her house with a date for her in an hour and, since I spent the week screwing everything in a skirt, I haven't had much time to look for a guy for her."

"Touching," Alex muttered dryly.

"Look," Archer began, "I'm not saying that this needs to be a 'til death do us part kind of thing. It won't be. The real reason I'm choosing you is because you're a good looking guy, so if things don't go well tonight, Addie can't get too angry with me because at least you'll be a good screw."

"Why would I even go along with this?" Alex asked in disgust. "This is so messed up."

"Because you'll get a free dinner out of me," Archer said breezily. "And I don't know how to say this without sounding creepy, but my sister is hot."

"Right," Alex scoffed, "because a woman who needs her brother to set her up on a date screams hot to me."

"Well, she blows the chick you were just talking to out of the water – no contest. Forbes Montgomery's may not be a lot of things, but we _are_ hot," Archer said cockily.

"Wait," Alex breathed, "what did you say your name was?"

"Archer."

"Your last name," Alex said impatiently.

"Montgomery."

"So your sister is Addison?" Alex asked, paling a little.

"Yes. How'd you know?" Archer asked. "You must be a doctor."

"I am a doctor," Alex answered, "but that's-"

"Oh, this is even more perfect," Archer exclaimed, cutting Alex off. "Now you two have something to talk about over dinner. And to think, I actually spent time last week setting her up with that lawyer last week."

"Archer, I really don't think this is a good idea," Alex protested.

"It'll be fine," Archer assured him. "Look at it this way, you wanted sex tonight; you're getting sex tonight."

I wouldn't count on it, Alex thought to himself.

"Besides," Archer continued, "we need to be at Addie's house soon, and it's too late for me to find someone else."

"Trust me, Archer, you don't-"

"Alex," Archer interrupted, "you're coming. End of story. Now I need you to listen to me so we can match up our stories. We'll say that I met you here two nights ago, and we struck up a conversation about medicine. I'm a doctor too," he added. "Yeah, that'll work. Addison would kill me if she knew that I picked you up thirty minutes ago."

"Dude, I'm pretty sure that will be the least of your concerns," Alex cut in.

Archer ignored him. "So, Addison lives about fifteen minutes away. Follow my car."

Archer began to make his way out of the bar, but Alex didn't move. "Come on, Alex," Archer called out, turning slightly. "We don't want to be late. Remember, first impressions are everything."

Twenty minutes later, Alex was standing with Archer at the front door of Addison's beach house. Several times on his drive over, Alex had been tempted to just drive home in order to spare himself from the mess that would be sure to unfold, but he didn't want to stand Addison up either. Sure, Addison would be angry when she found out that he was her blind date, but being stood up sucked. And he would much rather have Addison be angry with him than hurt her by standing her up. Besides, Alex thought to himself, this whole thing is Archer's fault. Alex had tried to get out of the date several times, and had tried to tell Archer that he and Addison already knew each other, but Archer had barely let him get a word in. Now it was too late.

"Okay, here we go," Archer grinned as he rang the doorbell.

Addison smiled as she opened the door, but her smile was promptly replaced by a look of shock.

"Addison," Archer began, grinning broadly, "I'd like you to meet your date. This is Alex, uh, Alex…Alex…I'm sorry, Alex," Archer apologized, "but I can't seem to remember your last name."

"It's Karev," Addison muttered dryly.

xxxxx

"How could you do this to me, Archer?" Addison shrieked when they were alone in the kitchen.

"I didn't know you knew him," Archer confessed. "And keep your voice down. He's gonna hear you."

"I don't really care," Addison shot back angrily. "You know, Archer, this is _so_ like you. I mean, I go through all this trouble trying to find you an appropriate date for tonight, and how do you repay me – by setting me up with one of the men who drove me away from Seattle. Seriously, Archer, Derek would have been a better blind date choice."

"I think you're being a little dramatic, Addie. Alex seems okay. He's a doctor-"

"Trust me, I know everything there is to know about Alex Karev," Addison interrupted. "We worked together in Seattle, we had a brief fling, and then he told me that I wasn't his girlfriend."

"What does that even mean?" Archer asked.

"I'll tell you what it doesn't mean," Addison began angrily. "It doesn't mean, 'hey, let's go on a blind date together in a couple years.' It was a rejection, Archer," Addison sighed.

"So return the favor," Archer suggested.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sleep with him and then reject him," Archer explained.

"I'm not sleeping with him again," Addison insisted. "Besides, I thought the purpose of this whole blind date thing is to find _appropriate_ people to date. We've already established that we're both very good at sleeping with inappropriate people."

"Fine, don't sleep with him," Archer shrugged. "I mean, the revenge there is almost as sweet."

"What?"

"When I met Alex tonight, he was about to go home with another woman, but I stepped in because he seemed like a good match for you. Anyway, sex was pretty much a guarantee for him tonight. Now, not so much," Archer smirked.

"What do you mean, when you met Alex tonight? You just met him tonight?" Addison asked angrily.

"We really should get back to Alex," Archer said quickly. "We're being rude."

"You know, Archer, you suck. To me, you suck."

"Oh, quiet Addie. I don't suck. You love me. Now come on. We really do need to get back to Alex."

xxxxx

"So Archer, I'd like you to meet your blind date, Olivia Westin," Addison said after their waiter had shown them to their table.

"Nice to meet you, Archer," Olivia smiled, as Archer, Addison, and Alex sat down.

"Olivia is a friend of Violet's," Addison explained. "She's a psychiatrist too."

"Wow," Archer smiled, "it looks like we have a table full of doctors. Addison, Alex, and I are all doctors too."

Olivia smiled warmly. "So, Addison," she began, "how long have you and Alex been dating?"

"Oh, Alex and I are not together," Addison said quickly. "We used to work together when I lived in Seattle. But I'm definitely not his girlfriend," Addison said shooting Alex a cold glare.

Alex gave Addison an apologetic look, but she didn't meet his eyes. She was too busy instructing the waiter to make sure that she always had a glass of wine in front of her throughout the evening.

"Oh, so that's it," Olivia nodded, "because I was sensing a closeness between you two."

"So Olivia," Archer cut in quickly, desperately trying to redirect the conversation, "what type of psychiatry do you specialize in?"

"A closeness," Addison scoffed, "Did you know that Alex over here once got me a lawsuit?"

"Oh, here we go," Archer muttered to himself.

"It's true," Alex admitted, "and it was probably one of the best career moves I ever made."

"Oh dear lord," Archer cringed, draining his scotch. "Waiter, another," he called.

"Really," Olivia asked with interest.

"Yeah," Alex laughed. "Addison stuck me on her service." Then, turning to face Addison, Alex smirked, "I believe your exact words were, 'Your ass is mine until I say otherwise.'"

"Nice save, Alex," Archer said under his breath. "So you liked working with my sister?" Archer asked, pleased with the new direction the conversation had taken.

"At first, I hated it," Alex confessed. "I was convinced that she was doing everything in her power to make my life miserable, so I did everything I could to piss her off."

"But he came around eventually. He finally realized that specializing in neonatology was a lot more rewarding than going into plastics," Addison laughed. "Then I couldn't get rid of him."

"Yeah, until you moved away," Alex said quietly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Addison shot back.

"You ran away, Addison," Alex said bluntly. "You left your whole Seattle life behind without even a second thought."

"I thought I told you that I walked away," Addison replied coldly.

"Semantics," Alex shrugged. "Things got tough, and you ran."

"And what are you doing in LA?" Addison asked. "Did you run too?"

"Just following in the footsteps of my mentor," Alex retorted sarcastically.

"You know, I've had to defend myself and my decisions to enough people, this year," Addison snapped. "I don't need to defend myself to you." And with that, she got up from the table and began to leave the restaurant.

"Yeah, okay, go ahead and leave, Addison," Alex yelled to her retreating figure. He sighed, "It's what you do best."

"I'll go after her," Archer said.

"No, I should go," Alex responded. "My blind date was over before it started. Maybe you guys can still salvage yours."

xxxxx

"Hey," Alex said, as he sat down next to Addison on a bench outside the restaurant.

Addison looked up at Alex, but didn't acknowledge him.

"Look, I know I was completely out of line in there," Alex began. "You shouldn't have to defend your life or your decisions to me or to anyone. It's just…it sucked when you left Seattle."

Addison rolled her eyes.

"It did," Alex insisted. "I missed working with you every day. I missed seeing you every day."

"Alex, you made it perfectly clear how you felt about me."

"I was scared, Addison," Alex confessed. "You wanted the commitment guy, you wanted the family guy, you wanted the 'til death do us part guy. And you deserve that guy. You deserve better than me."

"Alex-"

"Look, I know I could have handled it better back then, and I'm sorry for being such an ass to you, but I really did care about you, Addison. I know it sounds stupid, but I pushed you away because I cared about you. And it scared me."

Addison wanted to press the issue further and find out exactly just how much Alex had cared about her, but she could tell that this confession hadn't been easy for him, so she decided to let him off the hook. "Wow," Addison began with a slight laugh, "it only took us how many years to finally discuss this?"

"I know," Alex admitted. "There were so many times when you came to Seattle that I wanted to sit you down and have this discussion, but I always chickened out."

"Yeah," Addison nodded, "we never really got our closure?"

"But we're okay now?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, we're okay," Addison smiled.

"So, we should probably get back in there," Alex said, motioning towards the restaurant.

"I have a better idea," Addison smirked. "Let's _not_ go back in there, pick up some Chinese take-out, and go back to my place. We have a lot of catching up to do."

xxxxx

"Addison, I'm so sorry about what happened tonight," Archer called out as he let himself into Addison's house. "That was definitely my bad, and I promise, from now on, I'll be more serious about setting you up with appropriate…what's going on?" he interrupted himself, as he walked into the living room to find Alex and Addison sitting on the floor laughing and eating Chinese food together.

"Archer," Addison smiled, "after our little scene in the restaurant, Alex and I decided that we had enough embarrassment for one night so, instead of going back inside, we came back here. Veggie dumpling?" she offered.

"Uh, no, no thanks," Archer said. "So you guys are okay?"

"We decided we can do the friends thing," Alex told him. "I just moved here, so I really don't have any friends, and it turns out that Addison and I actually work at the same hospital, that is when she's not working at her lame private practice."

"Oh, you're gonna regret that smartass comment, Karev," Addison shot back with a laugh.

"Right," Alex smirked, "because nothing says I'm a hardcore surgeon like working at a place called Oceanside Wellness where you wear pink scrubs. Sounds like a freakin' spa."

"Hey," Addison defended, "the scrubs are more magenta than pink. And sometime we wear other colors."

Archer laughed, but stopped abruptly when Addison shot him a dirty look. Quickly changing the subject, he smirked, "Thank you both so much for asking about how my date went. Your concern is touching, really."

Addison rolled her eyes. "How did your date go, Archer?"

"It actually went pretty well," Archer smiled. "I'm seeing Olivia again tomorrow – which reminds me…Addison, I need you out of your house from two until five tomorrow."

"What? Why?" Addison asked.

"Olivia and are spending the afternoon on the beach and, since you have this beautiful beach house, I figure I can take her back here things are going well between us, if you know what I mean," he said raising an eyebrow mischievously.

"I hear you loud and clear, Archer," Addison grimaced.

"So is that a yes?" Archer asked.

Addison shrugged, "I guess it's a yes." Then, turning to Alex she asked, "Want to hang out with me on the beach tomorrow while my brother sexiles me from my own house?"

Alex laughed, "Sounds like fun." Then, looking at his watch, he sighed, "I should probably head home. It's getting late."

"Yeah, I should go too," Archer agreed.

Addison walked Archer and Alex to the door and gave each a hug goodnight. As she hugged Alex, for a little longer than was probably considered appropriate, she couldn't help noticing how right it felt.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews on the first chapter! Here's the final chapter. I hope you enjoy it and, as always, reviews are greatly appreciated!

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Blind Date (Part II)<strong>_

Come on, Callie, pick up the phone, Addison silently begged as she dialed her friend's number.

"Callie Torres."

"Callie, hey, it's Addison."

"Hey, Addison, how are you?" Callie responded cheerfully. "I've been meaning to call you."

"Really," Addison asked, "to tell me that Alex Karev moved to LA?"

"No," Callie laughed, "why would I call to tell you that?"

"Why wouldn't you call to tell me that?" Addison countered angrily.

"Addison, have you been spending too much time in the sun? Why in the world would I call you to tell you that Alex Karev moved to LA?"

"Oh, I don't know," Addison began sarcastically, "maybe if I knew he was here, I wouldn't have been completely surprised when we were set up on a blind date last night."

"Wait, you and Karev were set up on a blind date," Callie laughed. "You guys have a mutual friend in California who arranged that?"

"That would be my brother, Archer. Apparently, Archer picked Alex up in a bar in a scramble to find me a blind date," Addison explained.

"Wait, so your brother sets you up on blind dates," Callie asked in confusion. "That sounds kind of weird."

"It is," Addison admitted, "and actually, we set each other up on blind dates. It's kind of our way of helping each other not sleep with inappropriate people."

"And Alex is appropriate?" Callie asked.

"Well, I didn't sleep with him," Addison said testily. "That's got to count for something."

"Addison Montgomery, am I sensing disappointment in your voice?" Callie teased.

"What? No," Addison exclaimed quickly.

"Yeah, okay, your voice just went up two octaves. You are so lying and you so want to sleep with him," Callie laughed.

"Callie, I'm not and I don't," Addison protested.

"Yeah, okay, whatever. So, how are those lines of deliciousness?"

Addison sighed. "Delicious as ever," she admitted.

"Ha! I knew it," Callie declared triumphantly. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing," Addison sighed.

"Well, are you at least going to see him again?"

"We work in the same hospital, so it's inevitable that I'll run into him," Addison began. "Oh, and I might have invited him over today," she added quickly.

"Wow, a second date," Callie laughed. "You guys certainly wasted no time."

"It's not a second date," Addison grumbled. "We're just going to hang out on the beach while Archer and his date have sex in my beach house.

"You and your brother have a strange relationship," Callie observed.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"Look, Addie, I've gotta go, but I'll call you later because I'm definitely gonna want details."

"Fine, Callie, but I'm telling you, there's not going to be anything to tell."

"Yeah, okay, whatever you say. I'll talk to you later, and have fun on your not-date with Alex."

"It's really not a date, Callie."

"I never said it was," Callie laughed. "Talk to you later, Addie."

"Yeah. Bye, Callie."

xxxxx

"Okay, so I brought wine and snacks," Alex said as Addison let him into her house.

"Great," Addison smiled. "I'll get some glasses for the wine and we can head out to the beach. Archer and Olivia are already out there, so let's be sure to sit far, far away from them."

"Good plan," Alex grinned as they made their way out onto the beach.

"Oh, cabernet," Addison smiled. "Good call on the wine."

"Yeah, I noticed you ordered it last night, so I figured it was a safe bet," Alex replied.

They sat in silence for a while, sipping their wine and stealing glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking.

Finally, Alex broke the silence. "You're so lucky to live right on the beach. If I lived here, I'd be out here surfing every chance I could get."

"Well, you're welcome to come by anytime," Addison responded flirtatiously. What are you doing, she asked herself. Flirting? Really?

"Hmm, I just might have to take you up on that," Alex replied, a hint of flirtation creeping into his voice.

Addison thought she was going to die on the spot when Alex took off his shirt and began applying sunscreen to his body. "Would you mind getting my back," he asked innocently.

Addison did her best to hide her smile. "Sure," she said, as she began rubbing sunscreen into Alex's muscular back. "Do me?" she asked just as innocently, removing her sundress, and handing Alex the bottle of sunscreen.

Alex smiled at her choice of words. He would gladly do her. He appreciatively took in how flawless her body looked in her black bikini, as he began rubbing sunscreen into her soft skin.

Addison felt chills run down her spine when Alex touched her. She tried her best to keep her composure, but felt herself losing control when he began massaging her shoulders. "Mm, that feels good," she sighed.

"You feel so good," Alex whispered into her ear.

Addison turned to face him and they immediately locked eyes. Alex tucked a stray piece of hair behind Addison's ear, leaned in towards her, and smiled, "You're really beautiful, you know that?" Addison couldn't take it anymore. She closed the space between her and Alex and kissed him passionately on the lips. Alex responded eagerly, quickly slipping his tongue into her mouth and deepening the kiss. After a few minutes of kissing, Alex panted, "Addison, I need you."

"My place," Addison mumbled against his lips.

"But what about Archer?" Alex managed to get out in between kisses.

"We'll go to my bedroom," Addison reassured him. "Archer and I have a weird relationship, but he would never have sex with someone in my bed."

Alex smiled and returned to kissing Addison as they fumbled their way back to her house. When they got there, Addison opened the door and she and Alex resumed their frantic kissing as they began making their way through the house. They were fumbling through the kitchen, when all of a sudden they heard Archer's voice call out in horror, "Addison, what the hell are you doing here?"

Alex and Addison stopped making out and turned their attention to Archer, who had been in the middle of having sex with Olivia on Addison's kitchen table.

"Shit!" Addison exclaimed, quickly averting her eyes. "I-I I'm _so_ sorry, Archer, Olivia – nice to see you again, by the way. Um, we were just leaving. Come on, Alex, let's go back to the beach. Yeah, okay, so we're leaving now," Addison stammered, as she and Alex backed out of the kitchen. "As you were."

"Wow," Alex breathed as they made their way back to the beach, "that was-"

"Mortifying? Horrifying? Scarring?" Addison finished with a shudder. "Take your pick."

"More wine?" Alex asked, handing Addison a tall glass of cabernet.

"Thanks," Addison said taking a long sip. "You know," Addison said, "in a weird way, us walking in or Archer was probably for the best. I mean we're friends, right? It would have been wrong for us to have sex."

"Right," Alex agreed, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. "I mean, you're trying to sleep with appropriate people, and I'm pretty sure that I'm the textbook definition of inappropriate."

Addison laughed, "But you can't really blame us. I mean, we're two wildly attractive people. It's only normal."

"Exactly," Alex agreed. "But, hey, thanks to Archer we _didn't_ sleep together, and now we can just go back to being two wildly attractive friends." Damn it, Archer, he thought to himself.

"I'd like that," Addison lied.

"Good, me too," Alex said, giving his most convincing smile. As happy as he was to be Addison's friend, it wasn't enough. He wanted more, and he was pretty sure that Addison wanted more too but, because of their history, he knew that if he wanted more out of his relationship with Addison, he would have to tread lightly.

xxxxx

Two days had passed since the day that Alex and Addison almost had sex. They hadn't spoken to each other since then, so Addison was a little surprised and when she saw Alex's number flash on her phone.

"Hey, Alex," she answered, "what's up?"

"Addison, I need a favor," Alex whispered.

"Um, okay, what is it? And why are you whispering?"

"I'm calling you from the men's room," Alex explained.

"That's kind of weird."

"No, no, I'm on a date, and it's awful, and I needed to get away from her, so I went to the men's room," Alex clarified.

"You're on a date?" Addison asked, the jealously in her voice obvious.

"Archer set me up on a blind date," Alex explained. "He felt bad about single-handedly preventing me from having sex two days in a row, so he wanted to make it up to me by setting me up on a blind date with one of his friends."

"So what's the problem?" Addison asked in annoyance.

"This woman that he set me up with is _so_ not him making it up to me. She's a total nightmare."

"A total nightmare," Addison repeated with a laugh.

"Yes. Addison she won't shut up, except to steal food off my plate. She ate all the candied walnuts in my salad, and now she's currently working her way through the meatballs in my spaghetti and meatballs. They're the best part," Alex complained.

"So why are you telling me this?" Addison asked.

"I need you to bail me out. Come up with a fake emergency or something. Please, Addison, I'm desperate. I'll buy you dessert, anything you want. Just put me out of my misery and get me out of this date."

"Okay, fine," Addison sighed, "where are you?"

"The same restaurant we went to for our blind date."

"Okay, I'll be their in a half hour."

"Please hurry," Alex begged.

Twenty minutes later, Addison sauntered into the restaurant.

"Can I help you," a waiter asked as she walked by. It was her waiter from the other night.

"No thank you," Addison smiled, as she walked over to Alex's table. Stepping in front of him, she exclaimed loudly, "How could you do this to me?"

"Oh, hi Addison," Alex said. "Is something wrong?" he asked in concern.

"Is something wrong?" Addison asked angrily. "How could you take another woman to our place?"

"Our place?" Alex asked, thoroughly confused.

"Your place?" the waiter smirked to himself. He clearly remembered them from the other night.

"And on our anniversary?"

"Our anniversary?" Alex asked. Addison shot him a look. "Oh," Alex exclaimed in understanding, "our anniversary. Of course. Honey, I'm so sorry," Alex started.

"You're sorry?" Addison exclaimed. "I'll make you sorry. Here's a little preview of what you'll be missing because we are _so_ over." And with that, she crashed her lips against his, not caring that the whole restaurant was watching. They had already embarrassed themselves there once; a little more embarrassment surely wouldn't kill them. What she hadn't expected was for Alex to respond to her kiss as eagerly as he did – not that she was complaining, of course. It was Alex's date that finally put an end to their little make out session.

"You're married?" the woman exclaimed. "Alex, how could you not tell me this? I mean, we were having a perfectly nice date, and things were going well. The conversation was good, the food was good, the wine was good and, now, I find out that you're married. What am I supposed to do with this, Alex? How could you do this to me? I can't-"

"Please just leave," Addison angrily commanded Alex's date. "You've already done enough for one night."

The woman was about to open her mouth again, but Addison shot her a stern look, and the woman must have thought better of it because she nodded and quickly left the restaurant.

"Thank you," Alex breathed once his date was out of earshot.

"Your welcome," Addison smiled. Then motioning towards the waiter, Addison said, "Can you please get me a glass of cabernet and a dessert menu?"

The waiter looked confused, but finally obliged, "Of course, I'll be right back."

xxxxx

"So, your blind date didn't go well?" Archer asked Alex over drinks the following night.

Alex laughed, "No offense to your friend, Archer, but it was a horrible blind date."

"She's actually not really a friend of mine," Archer admitted. "She was hitting on me in a bar, but I'm with Olivia; but, you know, she seemed hot enough, so I figured I owed you a favor."

"Believe me, Archer, that was definitely not a favor. Addison had to come to the restaurant and bail me out of the date."

Archer chuckled. "So what's the deal with you two anyway?"

"We're friends," Alex answered simply.

"Yeah, friends who hang out every day, eat dinner together almost every night, and granted I was in a compromising position, but you two kind of looked like you were more than friends when you walked in on me and Olivia in the kitchen that time," Archer smirked.

"You know Addison still won't eat off the kitchen table," Alex laughed, trying to change the subject.

"I didn't know that," Archer chuckled, "but I can see how _you_ would, since you're over there all the time. Now, seriously, what's going on with you guys?"

"Honestly, Archer, nothing's going on between me and Addison, and even if something was going on between us, I wouldn't talk about it with you…you're her brother, that would be weird. Besides, Addison tells me that you have a special talent for chasing away her boyfriends."

"Only the really, really inappropriate ones," Archer defended.

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on, she was dating a cop," Archer reasoned.

"So?"

"Fine, call it elitist if you want, but I'm sure you wouldn't be well pleased if your sister was dating a cop," Archer shot back.

"I don't have the same interest in my sister's dating life that you appear to have in Addison's," Alex smirked.

"It's not that I'm interested in Addison's dating life," Archer protested, "it's just, I'm her older brother and I want to protect her from making bad decisions. Did she tell you that she dated her best friend's ex-husband?"

"Yeah. Sam," Alex said flatly.

"Big mistake," Archer exclaimed. "I mean that just screams inappropriate."

Alex shrugged.

"Besides," Archer continued, "I _already_ dated Addison's best friend, Naomi, before Addie got involved with Sam. You'd think she'd leave the other Bennett alone."

"Maybe you're not the best person to be giving Addison advice on appropriate relationships," Alex observed.

Archer shrugged, "Someone's gotta do it."

"So," Alex began, "if I hypothetically dated your sister, would you drive me away?"

"No."

"Really?" Alex asked with a slight laugh.

"Really," Archer nodded. You're a doctor, so you'll make a lot of money one day but, more importantly, when Addison's with you she reminds me of the old Addison."

"The old Addison?"

"Yeah. Since she moved to LA, Addie's been…different. Sadder, less confident – it's hard to watch. But, with you, I don't know, she reminds me of the Addison that I remember…the real Addison…and I like that."

xxxxx

"So, Alex, who are you scrubbing in with today?" a third year resident asked him as he approached a group of six residents.

"Dr. Montgomery, on Mrs. Winter's c-section," Alex answered.

"Oh, Dr. Montgomery's a really good teacher," another resident informed him. "You're lucky."

"I know," Alex smiled. "I used to work with her back in Seattle."

"Oh, so you must know all the gossip on her then," the third year prodded.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, not liking where the conversation was heading.

"Come on, Alex," a second year resident cut in, "Dr. Montgomery's a great doctor and everything, but her personal life is a mess. I mean, word on the street is that she's a huge slut. So, come on tell us about-"

"I swear, if I ever hear any of you talk about Dr. Montgomery like that again, I'm going strait to Charlotte King on your asses," Alex shot back. "You have no idea, _no idea_ what she went through in Seattle so I suggest you just shut up about it. And I don't know about you, but I can tell you that my personal life has been far from perfect, and I know that I wouldn't want a bunch of disrespectful residents gossiping about it just because they have nothing better to do. So, seriously, show Dr. Montgomery a little respect. She's an amazing doctor, and you're lucky to have the chance to work with her," Alex snapped, as he prepared to walk away. Then, turning around, he added angrily, "And not that any of you will ever get to know this, but Dr. Montgomery is a pretty amazing person too." And with that, Alex stormed past them.

xxxxx

"Nice job in there, Karev," Addison complimented as she and Alex scrubbed out together.

"Thanks, Dr. Montgomery," Alex smiled, "and thanks for trusting me with so much responsibility in this surgery."

"You've become a really good surgeon," Addison told him. "I'm proud of you."

"Yeah, well, just doing my job," Alex blushed.

"Geez, you still cannot take a compliment," Addison said.

Alex smiled.

"I, uh, I also wanted to thank you for standing up for me in front of the other residents today," Addison added, meeting Alex's eye. "You didn't have to do that."

"You heard that?" Alex asked.

Addison nodded.

"Addison, I'm so sorry, you shouldn't have had to hear that," Alex started. "But they're residents. Most of them aren't even very good doctors, so don't let what they said get to you. You're too good to even get caught up in that crap."

"Alex," Addison smiled, "I'm used to being gossiped about. I mean, come on, I was Derek's secret wife. I've heard enough gossip about myself to last a lifetime. It's just nice to know I've got someone in my corner."

Alex smiled, "I'm here for you, Addison."

"Thanks. Hey, so do you want to come to my place for dinner tonight?" Addison asked.

"Always," Alex grinned. "Any special occasion, or is it one of our friends' dinners?"

"Well, it's kind of an occasion," Addison began. "I'm finally ready to use my kitchen table again, and Archer and Olivia are coming over for dinner, so I'd really like it if you were there too."

"I'll be there," Alex smiled.

xxxxx

"So wait, Addison actually had to come down to the restaurant and bail you out of your bad blind date?" Olivia asked Alex with a giggle. Olivia, Archer, Alex, and Addison were sitting in Addison's living room drinking wine before sitting down for dinner at Addison's now very, very clean kitchen table.

Addison shifted a bit in Alex's lap and laughed, "Yeah, I went down there and pretended to be his angry wife."

"She did a really good job too," Alex complimented, playing with Addison's hair. "My date was seriously awful. I mean, she wouldn't shut up, she ate the best parts of my meal. She was terrible."

"Archer," Olivia laughed, "you need to stop setting these two up on such horrible blind dates."

"Well, maybe if they would just date each other already, I wouldn't have to set anyone up on blind dates," Archer muttered.

"What was that, Archer?" Addison asked.

"Uh, is dinner almost ready? I'm hungry," Archer said quickly.

"Uh, I don't know," Addison answered. "Let me go check," she said, removing her hand from Alex's and heading towards the kitchen.

"I'll come with you," Archer volunteered.

"So would you care to tell me what's going on?" Archer asked Addison once they were alone in the kitchen.

"What are you talking about, Archer?" Addison asked. "Oh, and while I have you in here, would you mind cleaning the kitchen table for me one more time; I know I've cleaned it like a million times, but once more can't hurt."

"Fine," Archer grumbled. "So what's going on with you and Alex," he pressed.

"I don't know," Addison answered. "Why don't you tell me?"

"Well, from where I was sitting, you look like a couple."

"A couple?"

"A very happy couple. I mean, you were sitting in his lap, he was playing with your hair, you were holding hands. That's all very couple-ish," Archer finished.

"Archer, Alex and I are friends. I mean, we care about each other, but we're friends first."

"Yeah, yeah, you're friends, you're friends. I get it," Archer said sarcastically. "Why don't you just go there already?"

"Because the last time I went there already with Alex, he told me I wasn't his girlfriend. I'm not losing him again."

"You won't lose him again," Archer assured her.

"Archer, this is the first time in years that I've actually felt like myself. And as much as I would like to be with Alex, I can't risk losing him and what we have."

"Fine," Archer sighed. "We should get back out there."

xxxxx

"So I have a favor to ask you," Alex said a couple days later, as he jogged down the hospital corridor to catch up with Addison.

"Name it," Addison smiled.

"Archer set me up on a blind date tonight, and I was wondering if I could count on you to bail me out again if it's awful, you know, because of Archer's track record and all."

Addison felt the jealousy begin to rise up in her. Sure, she wasn't dating Alex, but that didn't mean she wanted someone else to date him. "Archer actually set me up on a blind date tonight too," Addison admitted, "so I won't be able to come down to the restaurant and raise hell, but I can call you with some type of fake emergency."

"That works," Alex said with a forced smile. He really didn't feel like smiling, though. The thought of Addison on a date with another man pissed him off to no end. "Um, just so you know, if your date doesn't go well tonight, I can call you and help get you out of it," he offered.

"Thanks," Addison smiled, meeting Alex's eyes.

"You know," Alex said, after a few minutes of eye-sex, "if I hadn't been an idiot back in Seattle, and if you hadn't moved to LA, do you think we could have maybe had a chance?"

"I don't know," Addison answered honestly.

"Yeah, me either. But, I'll tell you one thing – before I met you, women were disposable to me. I never pictured a future with any of the women I was with. And even though we never actually dated or anything, you were the first woman I could ever see myself having a future with, and it scared me because I was worried that I'd hurt you. I've hurt every woman I've ever been with and it never really bothered me, you know. But the idea of hurting you…I couldn't handle it. I still can't handle it."

"Alex, that was a long time ago," Addison said softly.

"I know," Alex agreed, "It just makes me wonder if things would have gone differently back then, maybe we wouldn't need Archer to be setting us up on blind dates because, you know, maybe we'd be together."

"I know," Addison whispered. "It makes me wonder too."

xxxxx

Addison showed up to her blind date ten minutes late. After her conversation with Alex, earlier in the day, she really didn't feel like going at all. Alex said that he couldn't handle the idea of hurting her; how could he not realize that him going on a date with another woman was absolutely killing her? She tried to get Archer to cancel her date for her, but he refused. Go figure.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" a waiter asked, snapping Addison out of her thoughts.

Addison cleared her throat and put on a fake smile before responding, "I'm meeting someone here. The reservation is under Archer Montgomery."

"Oh yes," the waiter said. "I believe the man you're meeting is already here."

Addison nodded sadly. She hadn't even set eyes on her date yet and already she was feeling the urge to call Alex and ask him to bail her out. But she promised herself she wouldn't call him. She didn't want to ruin his date.

"Please follow me," the waiter instructed her. Addison looked at the waiter more carefully – he was the same waiter that she and Alex had on their first blind date, and he had also been there when she came to the restaurant pretending to be Alex's wife. Great, Addison thought to herself, as if I wasn't thinking about Alex enough already.

"Here you are," the waiter said, stopping at Addison's table.

"Thank you," Addison smiled.

The waiter nodded and stepped to the side, and Addison found herself face to face with her blind date – Alex Karev.

"You're my blind date?" Addison asked, tears brimming in her eyes.

"_You're_ my blind date?" Alex asked in disbelief.

"I guess I am," Addison smiled as she leaned in to kiss Alex, not caring who was watching.

"You know," Alex whispered, when they finally broke apart, "I was really hoping you'd be my date tonight. I wanted it to be you so badly."

Addison smiled, "I wanted to be your date so badly too."

Alex smiled widely and pulled Addison in for another kiss.

"Excuse me," their waiter cut in. Alex and Addison quickly broke apart. "Champagne," their waiter said, as he began pouring expensive champagne into Alex and Addison's glasses.

"We didn't order this," Alex and Addison said together.

"I know," the waiter smiled, "compliments of the gentleman at the bar."

Addison and Alex quickly turned their attention towards the bar, and smiled when they saw Archer raise his glass of scotch in their direction.

"You know," Alex said, as he leaned in to give Addison a quick kiss, "maybe your relationship with your brother isn't so messed up after all."

_xxxxx_


End file.
